Fatherhood:The Adventure Begins!
by ProDLnEC aka NLcsimiamifanatic
Summary: Eric's first days at home as a new dad to Nevaeh Esperanza. ON HAITUS!
1. Three Days Old

_This series is dedicated to Aggie, an incredible person who tragically lost her life to a brain tumor Aggie was a student assistant at my high school who was always able to make me see the brighter side of things during those difficult years of my life. _

_R.I.P. Aggie, you will be truly missed._

_From __**Trust**__ Story...Eric's first months as a single dad to Nevaeh._

_**First Day Home**_

He had taken newborn care and first-aid classes and Eric surprised himself at how at ease he was taking care of his newborn child even on the first day he had her home. He had fought with his mother when she wanted to stay the night, even though she said she would just be there if he needed help or advice. But Eric were adamant, not only did he feel he could handle it, a parent's first night home with their baby may definitely be exhausting but it was also very special and Eric wanted it to be only them. Nevaeh's room was all ready for her but for now she would sleep in a bassinet in daddy's room. His boss was accommodating and had given Eric a month off, with pay, starting today. The first three days of his child's life he called in sick. Eric was grateful he could spend the time bonding with his baby and not worry about money. The newborn girl was a mirror image of his own baby photos with the exception she had a lot more hair.

"You're so beautiful," he cooed to the newborn. "Do you have any idea how happy papi is that you're his?"

The baby gurgled, staring up at him with large brown eyes. It may have only been his feeling but Nevaeh appeared more relaxed now that the two were alone. Eric started to think near the end of their visit that his parents had his newborn overstimulated. It took him over an hour to get his parents to leave. His father _finally_ realized his new granddaughter needed some time alone with her "papi" to settle down. Eric knew it was going to be hard as a single dad but he was looking forward to every moment with Nevaeh.

"Abuela and Dedushka love you very much. I know they were a bit much for you today but they're so excited that you're here. But no one is more glad than papi."

His mother was called "abuela," Spanish for grandma and his father was called "Dedushka," Russian for grandpa, to reflect the couple's backgrounds.

Eric placed his daughter in the infant carrier that was in the center of the kitchen table. He still couldn't seem to take his eyes off her.

_How could Tammy not want her? Tammy Lewis had relinquished custody and parental rights at her first opportunity; twenty-four hours after giving birth. _

_When Nevaeh entered the world, the doctor attempted to show Tammy the baby. Tammy turned her head and shouted to get "it" out of the room. Two nurses could barely hold it together seeing the difference in which the newborn was greeted by her "papi" verus the woman who brought her into the world. The man had tears in his eyes and spoke to the baby softly in Spanish. The girl's father spent every second of the visiting hours at the hospital with the baby for three days. _

No child deserved to have a mother in their lives who didn't love them. Eric was relieved that his child would never know that kind of rejection. With him and close-knit family Nevaeh would know only love and acceptance. She would know every day how loved and wanted she was. Not having her mother in her life wouldn't be a bad thing for Nevaeh.

Eric put the meal his mother had set aside for him in the microwave and pressed the button. He had laughed earlier when she told him not to forget to take care and feed himself. Now his stomach was growling and he chuckled.

"Daddy's got to remember to eat," he said to the baby.

After he ate, Eric again picked up Nevaeh, carried her to the sofa and sat down. He flicked on the television and turned to the channel that had the Miami Dolphins game. His daughter would be ready for another bottle and diaper change soon, then he would put her down for the night.

"Next time I'm going to have put your jersey on, papi will wear his, too."

When his sister Rachel found her little brother was going to be a father one of the things she gave him was a _Miami Dolphins _set with a onesie, bib and booties.

"Es usted sonoliento, princesa?" Eric said to his daughter watching her yawn and stretch.

He planned to raise his daughter to be bilingual. So far in her little life Nevaeh had heard mostly Spanish. Spanish was almost entirely spoken at his parents' home though the couple was perfectly fluent in English. His father was born and raised in Russia, thus he was fluent in the language. He became fluent in Spanish when the Russian government had sent him to Cuba in the 1960's. That was when he met Eric's mother. The two married in Havana and had three daughters. Chlorinda was pregnant with Eric when the family made the dangerous trip to the United States. Eric was sure that his child would also pick up some Russian as she grew up. Despite hearing mostly Spanish in her early life he wasn't worried about his child's future ability to learn English. It hadn't been an issue for him.

Eric took the opportunity to take a quick shower and then slept for a few hours when he put Nevaeh in her bassinet. She slept till almost ten when she woke for another the nurses told him that newborns ate every two hours, they weren't kidding, the new father thought.

Still, sleepless nights and all, Eric couldn't wait for this adventure to begin.


	2. Four Days Old

_**Four Days Old**_

__The cries of his child woke Eric the next morning instead of the alarm clock. He was puzzled for a split second, his brain still fuzzy from sleep.

_She was real. His daughter wasn't a dream. _

He smiled as he sat up.

"Estoy viniendo, bebe," he said as he walked over to the bassinet. Nevaeh's cries quieted when Eric picked her up. "Buenos dias, mi princesa. Como esta usted esta manana?"

It was shortly after six a.m.. After a feeding, a fresh diaper and some kisses from papi, Nevaeh fell back to sleep till eight-thirty giving Eric some time to do some laundry. He was definitely going to try to get a bigger washer and dryer; the small apartment washer and dryer would only do a barely a half load of clothes. If he was to add the many wash clothes and the amount of clothes a baby went through, the machine wasn't going to last too long. His mother and his sisters had realized his laundry room dilemma before Nevaeh was born. They offered to help out with his laundry loads till Eric got a place with bigger washer and dryer. The women knew that father and child wouldn't be moving for a while. The two-bedroom basement apartment was small, the porch and laundry area were combined, the same with the living room and kitchen. For the quiet family-oriented neighborhood it was in, just a ten minute drive from the home where he grew up and where his parents still lived, the rent was cheap. And with his minimum wage pay from the tow company and now with new baby to support, Eric didn't intend to make his bills any higher with an unnecessary move. He had been lucky enough to get a "sweet deal" off an elderly woman that he had once helped on the road, He was off shift and driving the truck back to the office when he sw her. Her tire was flat and she didn't have a spare, Eric gave her a ride and towed her car to the garage, refusing to take any money. Months later she had tracked him down through the tow company. She could no longer drive due to medical problems. She wanted to give the young man her car, a barely used 2009 blue Honda Accord, that was fully paid off, for free, or if he insisted the woman would take $300, no more. Eric's observation had been right; the woman had _plenty_ of money. It certainly was not essential, but felt good to have a reliable vehicle with a small child.

His parents had no idea how grateful he was, and he told often enough that he would getting free babysitting when he went back to work. A church down the street ran a free daycare in exchange a few hours of volunteer work a month. Eric had considered putting Nevaeh there. Neither Pavel or Chlorinda Delko would hear of that. The place was wonderful option if Eric had had no other choice, but with her grandparents so close by and them having the time and energy to care for her during those hours, there was no need for Nevaeh to attend any daycare.

Rachel called his brother around 10:00am. She was going to run some errands and waned to know if he needed anything picked up or if he had a surplus of dirty clothes that needed washing. Eric told her no but asked when she was going to bring her two sons, two-year-old Mateo and five-year-old Alexander, known as "Sasha" to his family.

"I was hoping to bring them over after I get Sasha from school," Rachel said. "They're very excited."

Eric was looking forward to seeing how the two little boys interacted with his daughter. The duo adored uncle Eric and couldn't wait to meet their new cousin.

Nevaeh didn't seem to be fazed by the commotion of two excited little boys around her when Rachel and the children visited. Sasha got to hold Nevaeh but brother and sister seemed to agree without any conversation that Mateo would be too rough with her. Eric thought it was adorable when Mateo wanted to give Nevaeh his _Spiderman_ action figure.

"She's too little for action figures, bud," Eric smiled. "But maybe you can bring her a cuddly toy next time. She'll like that."

_Eric knew without them saying, especially his mother, that his parents were somewhat upset by __he was going to become a father in this way, a little more than a casual 'fling' with a woman they hadn't even heard of and knew they wouldn't meet._ _They had no doubts however about their son's intention to raise the unborn baby, if the child were his. The older couple could see that Eric wanted the child to be his._

_ No matter what the circumstances of her conception. The young man's happiness was as clear as day when he received the results of the paternity test._

_The baby was his._

_ The technician had bent the rules and told him the baby's gender since he was the father and was applying for custody. _

_ The baby was a girl. _

_ This had only made Eric more excited. Girl or boy hadn't mattered to him but he had always dreamed of a daughter. Now he could start preparing a room for his child and choosing a name. The name Nevaeh, heaven spelled backwards came to him quickly. _

Eric felt strange relief as the day drew to a close. Though she had relinquished her rights when Nevaeh were just twenty-four hours-old, Tammy had three days to change her mind and reclaim _his_ baby. The end of this day meant that Tammy, or anyone associated with her could take Neveah from him. Part of him was sure that Tammy wouldn't change her mind but that piece of uncertainty in the back of his mind had Eric worried.

Now he felt he could breathe.

Rocking his newborn to sleep that night Eric knew the two would be more okay, they would be great.

_**Translations**_

_Estoy viniendo, bebe - I'm coming, baby._

_ Buenos dias, mi princesa. Como esta esta usted esta manana? - Good morning, my princess. How are you this morning?_


	3. Five Days Old

_**Five Days Old**_

Eric rolled his eyes when his mother told him she would do his grocery shopping because she didn't want Nevaeh to get a chill by going by the frozen food section, the place in the store when Eric spent most of his shopping time. Even Rachel said her mother were over-reacting. Nevaeh was a healthy baby. Unless her father planned to put her _in_ the freezer while he shopped, Nevaeh would be fine. Eric told his mother he would make he had the hood of Nevarh's fleece sweater up.

The grocery store trip was the baby's first trip outside the apartment. Eric was looking forward to showing her off.

"You look so pretty," Eric said, as he adjusted the blue faded print, bell-bottom style jeans on his baby daughter. He topped the outfit off with a white t-shirt that read "Little Princess" in pink letters and a purple hoodie. Nevaeh looked at him with big eyes. "We're going on a little trip today."

Eric learned just how good a 'chick magnet' a baby was the moment he took her out of his blue Honda Accord. The smiles came from women right away, especially at Costco where Eric went after the local market to pick up some kiddy snacks and juice boxes for his "buddies," Mateo and Sasha, when they came by. People must have thought Eric had more than one child. Eric often sleep-overs with his nephews when their mom and dad went out for the night. They probably wouldn't have sleep-overs for a while but that didn't mean the boys couldn't spend weekend afternoons with him. Eric enjoyed that as much the children did. Now that the spare room was occupied, Eric told the two boys when they had sleepovers again, the boys could bring their sleeping bags and sleep on the floor in the living room. That made the boys excited.

"_She's so cute! _How old is she?" He heard countless times while shopping. If Eric had been looking, he could have received tons of women's phone numbers. Returning from their short trip, he found his father, accompanied by Mateo in his driveway. Two-year-old Mateo was holding a small plush teddy bear.

"Hola, tio Eric!" Mateo said excitedly, running over to Eric when Eric got out of the car.

"Hi ya, pal," Eric said, hugging the boy. "You came over to see your cousin, didn't you?"

Mateo nodded.

"I got dis for her," he said, showing Eric the bear. "I bought it myself! Tan I 'old her today? Pease? I be very careful."

"Okay, buddy. How 'bout you help me and dedushka put the groceries away and then you can hold Nevaeh."

"Okay!"

Little Mateo was more careful and gentle with the baby than the adults would have thought. They had to give the boy some credit.

"She likes you," Eric told Mateo of Nevaeh.

Even though some parents described the all day staying at home with a baby and doing other household chores to be "mind-numbing," Eric was enjoying the experience. He knew he had to, but he wasn't looking to going back to work.

"She didn't mind the shopping?" His father asked.

"Not at all," Eric said with a smile. "Then again I wouldn't either if everyone passing by told me I was cute."

To celebrate the fact that the dreaded phone call or knock on the door with Tammy wanting to take Nevaeh not coming, while at Costco , Eric had bought a cake and had the words "_We Love You, Nevaeh_"written on it. He told his father he was going to invite over that evening to celebrate.

"Your mom had the same idea," Pavel said. "She already started cooking stuff She wanted me to ask if that was okay."

"I guess we're having a party," Eric smiled.

"A party?" Mateo said, turning to look at the two men. "For Nevaeh?"

"Yep," Eric said.

"Yay!"

_**Meanwhile...**_

_Tammy Lewis drove straight to Port Charlotte, non-stop the moment she was released from Miami General. All her things were already there in her new apartment. For the three months prior to giving birth she had lived with a older female friend named Felicia. She couldn't wait to leave this city. For the two days she were in the hospital after giving birth or "having it removed) as she put it, her friends stopped by, aghast at how Tammy talked of the newborn girl. She had been like that during the pregnancy but many thought for sure that Tammy's feeling toward the child would change once she gave birth._

_ "What's going to happen to her?" One of her older friends asked._

_ Tammy shrugged. _

_ "I signed the papers already. As far as I know they're letting that Cuban tow truck driver have her."_

_ "You mean Eric, her father," the woman almost growled. _

_ " Either way it's not my problem anymore."_

_ In the past few months Felicia had learned much about Eric Delko, be it through his attorney. But all accounts he was an honest, hard-working young man who had made the mistake of having sex with Tammy. She had seen him once when she drove Tammy to the lawyer's office. She had a feeling the little girl would be much better off with him, or she hoped so._

_ Felicia's feeling was only affirmed when she was leaving. She was passing the nursery and the blinds were up. She saw Eric, he was holding a baby with dark hair and eyes. Felicia stood there watching for several minutes. Visiting hours must ended, she saw Eric smile, give the baby a kiss and whisper something to her before gently putting down in the clear plastic bassinet. A pink piece of paper was on the side of the bassinet listed the baby's name as Nevaeh Esperanza Delko._

_ "Ms. Reynolds?" _

_ A male voice jerked Felicia from her thoughts._

_ "Eric!" Felicia said. "How are you?"_

_ "Great!" Eric smiled. "Did you see her? Isn't she beautiful?"_

_ "She is," Felicia said. She had to ask. "Are you..."_

_ "I'm taking her home," Eric replied. "The day after tomorrow. Everything's ready."_

_ Tammy may have not been a happy new mom but Eric was definitely a very happy new dad. _

_ "Congratulations. I know you'll give her a wonderful life."_

_ "Thank you, ma'am," Eric said._

All the adults in the Delko family had been as on edge as Eric. They too felt that they could now "breathe.' This was also partly why the cake read "We Love You," not "Welcome." Nevaeh's party to celebrate both her arrival (and her staying with her dad for good) at her grandparents' house proved to be a bit overwhelming for her. She was passed around a little too much and the few balloons that were popped by her excited cousins startled her.

"Do you wanna go home, sweetie?" Pavel asked his granddaughter. "Have you had enough of your party? I think someone's tired, daddy," he said to Eric.

Nevaeh was already asleep by the time the two arrived home a half hour later. Pavel had changed her diaper so all Eric had to do was put on her pajamas. Nevaeh slept right through that too.

"All partied, huh?" Eric said kissing her forehead as he laid her in her crib. "Good night, my sweet angel," he whispered.


	4. Six Days Old

_**Six Days Old**_

Eric finally had to admit defeat.

He was exhausted.

His mother laughed when he called.

"Daddy needs a nap?" She said.

Chlorinda thought it would be about now that Eric's reserves would give out. He wasn't trying to prove anything but he was so in love with his baby girl he didn't want anyone else looking after her. She may not have done so with the wopman who gave birth to her, but Nevaeh had stolen her daddy's heart.

"Oh, and a long one."

"I'll be there in a half hour. Think you can stay awake?"

"Yeah," Eric said. "I think the caffeine buzz will last till then."

Eric was in the middle of changing a dirty diaper when his mother arrived. He had changed a few diapers with his nephews when they were babies so he had learned to smile and hold his breath at the same time. His newborn smelled sweet but he couldn't say the same about her diapers. He did have to note that newborn diapers weren't as bad as toddler diapers.

"Abuela is glad she's late," Chlorinda said.

Eric just smiled. He had given his daughter her first bath in the tub earlier. Wanting the moment documented, he had asked his other sister, Paloma to come over and take pictures. She didn't know who enjoyed the bath more, her brother or niece.

_When her friends found out she was going to be a grandmother Chlorinda's friends wondered if one of her daughters or maybe Chlorinda herself was going to raise the baby. For some reason they assumed Eric would decide he was not capable of raising his child himself. If that were the case, and it were a __big__ if, Eric had asked his sister Rachel and brother-in-law Jonathan to take custody of the baby. The couple said they would be glad to, though no means set their hearts on it and absolutely didn't tell their sons Mateo and Sasha. They were just fine with being a "back-up plan." Like the rest of the family, all thought Eric would be a great dad. He always talked about fatherhood, even if it wasn't this way. Eric's sisters had also ran into their share of people who thought their bachelor brother wouldn't even want to be a full-time custodial parent to his child, "especially with the baby being a girl." And thus decide to give her to family members to raise and be a "visiting" dad in the girl's life. People saying this to their faces that Eric wouldn't want to raise a baby because she was a girl was offensive to Eric's whole family in general. But they also believed no one had the right to say that, especially if they didn't know Eric._

_ Then there were also some who threw in the amazingly lame statement that "it was a sin that the baby was living in such a small apartment by a parent who only made minimum."_

_ "You wouldn't say the same about a single __**mom **__working the same type of job and living in an apartment that size," Paloma snapped. _

_ Then there was the constant comment of "that poor motherless baby." Never mind the fact the child mother loathed the child. Some people even said Nevaeh was better having a mother like Tammy, than no mother at all. _

_ "A dad just wouldn't get it right, especially with a little girl," Paloma heard._

_ Chlorinda thought she was going to smack a long-time friend who told her to"do all she could to convince Eric that 'there was no way' he could raise a little girl 'properly.' That the baby was better off with Rachel and Jonathan. _

_ "At least she'd have a proper family and a chance for a future."_

_ That last comment made his mother want to knock the woman out cold. It was an insult to her son._

Felicia Reynolds was flabbergasted.

"You don't miss her _at all_?" She asked Tammy of the baby girl.

"Sure. I miss her like a tumor. I do wonder Eric still has her or if he pawned her off on someone in his family."

Though she had only seen Nevaeh with her father in the hospital nursery and hadn't spoken to Eric since, Felicia didn't believe there was any way that the young man wasn't the one raising his baby daughter.

It still was beyond Eric how Tammy didn't want Nevaeh in her life. As selfish as it may have sounded however, he was glad to have his daughter all to himself. Maybe if Tammy had showed some, _any_ maternal instinct he would have felt different. Although he had asked his sister and brother-in-law to raise Nevaeh if he couldn't, Eric was glad he had decided to parent his little girl. If he had decided to give custody to Rachel and Jonathan there was no way he would try and even want to, keep Nevaeh from calling Jonathan "daddy" if they were the ones raising her day-to-day. It would have been unfair to Nevaeh as well. He now knew for sure he couldn't cope with being Nevaeh's "uncle Eric" and not her daddy. He may have only been doing this for six days but complete lack of sleep, dirty diapers and all he didn't want his 'old' life back.


	5. TO READERS

_There might be a delay in updates to my stories. Yesterday I had to have my baby, my dog of sixteen years, 'Rebel' put to sleep. My mind is out of it right now. I hope to be back soon._


End file.
